Strong Showing by Women Voters

In three Afghan provinces—Faryab, Daikundi and Nuristan - more women than men turned out to cast ballots for president during elections October 9.

According to official election results as of October 22 (at http://www.afg-electionresults.org), 53 per cent of voters in the central Daikundi province and 52 per cent in Faryab in the north were female. In Nuristan in the east of Afghanistan, 50 per cent were women, and Herat and Paktia were only one percentage point behind.

Sadiq Mudabir, a member of the Afghan election commission secretariat, said both voter education and local customs contributed to a high turnout of women in some provinces.

In Daikundi, he said, society is relatively open, and husbands encouraged their wives to vote. In Nuristan and Faryab, he added, civic education contributed to the high turnout.

Mohammad Kabir Ranjbar, director of the Afghan bar association, said Nuristan had historically been a matriarchal society until the local population converted to Islam. Mothers were the head of tribes, and women performed most of the agricultural work.

According to Ranjbar, since women in Nuristan are the main providers, they have more freedom and were able to participate more fully in the vote.

Local customs and family traditions appear to have kept some women from polling centres elsewhere. In Helmand and Oruzgan provinces, turnout by women was only two and seven per cent, respectively.

Participation by women voters defied expectations in some other provinces.

"In Kabul, female turnout was lower than expected, whereas in Herat, Nangarhar and Bamian provinces the turnout was very good," said Mudabir.

Shukria Barakzai, managing editor of the women's weekly magazine Aina-ye-Zan (Woman's Mirror), noted that women living in those three provinces are more deprived than women living in cities, with less access to education, medical care, health clinics and other issues.

"Women went to polling centres out of necessity, taking positive steps toward achieving their aspirations," she said.

In regions where female voter turnout was lower, security was a significant factor. Religious concerns and basic gender discrimination were also obstacles preventing women from participating.

Sultan Ahmad Bahin, a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said men in central parts of the country often leave their homes to find work, so those areas had high female registration and turnout. In urban centres such as Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Herat and Bamian, many women also participated in the vote, he added.

According to the latest voter turnout statistics, 40 per cent of the overall number of voters were women. The exact breakdown by gender will be made public at the end of the counting process.

Sayed Azam, a spokesman for the UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body, said people in Afghanistan and around the world should be proud of Afghan women for actively taking part in the presidential elections.

Makia Munir is a reporter for the Pajhwok Afghan News Agency in Kabul.